Luthiers from Around the World

The modern French name for luthier goes back to lute making. In the German-speaking world, the makers of stringed instruments were called violin makers, as violin was the generic term for various stringed instruments. However, violin makers also occasionally made plucked instruments such as lutes, mandolins, harps, guitars and hurdy-gurdies. Clear demarcations between the instrument makers were created later and regionally by professional associations. The craft of luthiers is usually divided into two main categories: Makers of stringed instruments that are plucked or bowed, and makers of stringed instruments that are bowed. Since stringed instruments require a bow, there is a sub-type in the second category known as a bow maker or archetier. Two important luthiers of the early 19th century who are associated with the development of the modern classical guitar are Louis Panormo and Georg Staufer. Antonio Torres Jurado is credited with developing the shape of the classical guitar that is still in use today. Christian Frederick Martin from Germany developed a form that evolved into the modern steel-stringed acoustic guitar.

Felix Müller: German Luthier & Double-Top Guitar Maker

Felix Müller: German Luthier & Double-Top Guita...

Felix Müller is one of the most promising young classical guitar makers working in Germany today. Based in Aarbergen in the Hesse region, he carries forward a distinguished family tradition...

Felix Müller: German Luthier & Double-Top Guita...

Felix Müller is one of the most promising young classical guitar makers working in Germany today. Based in Aarbergen in the Hesse region, he carries forward a distinguished family tradition...

Dominique Field: French Master Luthier

Dominique Field: French Master Luthier

Dominique Field occupies a singular place among the great classical guitar makers of our time. Born on 30 July 1954 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, he came to lutherie not through a...

Dominique Field: French Master Luthier

Dominique Field occupies a singular place among the great classical guitar makers of our time. Born on 30 July 1954 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, he came to lutherie not through a...

Christopher Dean: Master Luthier of the Cotswolds

Christopher Dean: Master Luthier of the Cotswolds

Christopher Dean stands among the most respected classical guitar makers to emerge from Britain in the modern era. Working from his workshop in Kingham, Oxfordshire — in the heart of...

Christopher Dean: Master Luthier of the Cotswolds

Christopher Dean stands among the most respected classical guitar makers to emerge from Britain in the modern era. Working from his workshop in Kingham, Oxfordshire — in the heart of...

Ivan Bruna: Italian Classical Guitar Maker

Ivan Bruna: Italian Classical Guitar Maker

Among the contemporary Italian luthiers who have quietly earned a place on the international concert stage, Ivan Bruna stands apart for the clarity of his vision and the rigour of...

Ivan Bruna: Italian Classical Guitar Maker

Among the contemporary Italian luthiers who have quietly earned a place on the international concert stage, Ivan Bruna stands apart for the clarity of his vision and the rigour of...

Thomas Dauge: French Luthier of the Modern Classical Guitar

Thomas Dauge: French Luthier of the Modern Clas...

Thomas Dauge is one of the most compelling figures to emerge from the French school of classical guitar making in recent decades. Based in the Bordeaux region of southwest France,...

Thomas Dauge: French Luthier of the Modern Clas...

Thomas Dauge is one of the most compelling figures to emerge from the French school of classical guitar making in recent decades. Based in the Bordeaux region of southwest France,...

Yunah Park – The Korean Luthier Keeping Madrid's Guitar Tradition Alive

Yunah Park – The Korean Luthier Keeping Madrid'...

Yunah Park is one of the most quietly remarkable figures in the contemporary classical guitar world — a South Korean luthier working out of a small workshop in Madrid's Malasaña...

Yunah Park – The Korean Luthier Keeping Madrid'...

Yunah Park is one of the most quietly remarkable figures in the contemporary classical guitar world — a South Korean luthier working out of a small workshop in Madrid's Malasaña...

Manuel Reyes: Master of the Flamenco Guitar

Manuel Reyes: Master of the Flamenco Guitar

Manuel Reyes Maldonado (1934–2014) stands among the most revered flamenco guitar makers of the twentieth century. Born in Jayena, Granada, and rooted from childhood in Córdoba, Reyes spent his entire...

Manuel Reyes: Master of the Flamenco Guitar

Manuel Reyes Maldonado (1934–2014) stands among the most revered flamenco guitar makers of the twentieth century. Born in Jayena, Granada, and rooted from childhood in Córdoba, Reyes spent his entire...

Stephen Hill: Classical Guitar Maker from Granada

Stephen Hill: Classical Guitar Maker from Granada

Stephen Hill occupies a rare position among contemporary classical guitar makers: a British luthier who followed the craft all the way to its heartland in Granada, Spain, and built a...

Stephen Hill: Classical Guitar Maker from Granada

Stephen Hill occupies a rare position among contemporary classical guitar makers: a British luthier who followed the craft all the way to its heartland in Granada, Spain, and built a...

Paul Fischer: Britain's Foremost Classical Guitar Maker

Paul Fischer: Britain's Foremost Classical Guit...

aul Fischer is widely acknowledged as Britain's foremost classical guitar maker — a craftsman whose instruments are played on concert stages around the world and whose influence on the art...

Paul Fischer: Britain's Foremost Classical Guit...

aul Fischer is widely acknowledged as Britain's foremost classical guitar maker — a craftsman whose instruments are played on concert stages around the world and whose influence on the art...

Dieter Müller: German Luthier and Double-Top Master

Dieter Müller: German Luthier and Double-Top Ma...

Among the handful of luthiers who have genuinely shaped the modern double-top classical guitar, Dieter Müller occupies a quietly distinguished place. Working from Biedenkopf in the German state of Hesse,...

Dieter Müller: German Luthier and Double-Top Ma...

Among the handful of luthiers who have genuinely shaped the modern double-top classical guitar, Dieter Müller occupies a quietly distinguished place. Working from Biedenkopf in the German state of Hesse,...

Michel Brück: German Master Luthier

Michel Brück: German Master Luthier

Among the foremost classical guitar makers working in Germany today, Michel Brück occupies a singular position. Born in 1965 into a family with three generations of woodworking craftsmen, he grew...

Michel Brück: German Master Luthier

Among the foremost classical guitar makers working in Germany today, Michel Brück occupies a singular position. Born in 1965 into a family with three generations of woodworking craftsmen, he grew...

Simon Ambridge: British Master Luthier from Devon

Simon Ambridge: British Master Luthier from Devon

Simon Ambridge is one of Britain's most quietly celebrated classical guitar makers — a craftsman whose instruments are sought by discerning players around the world for their tonal purity, elegant...

Simon Ambridge: British Master Luthier from Devon

Simon Ambridge is one of Britain's most quietly celebrated classical guitar makers — a craftsman whose instruments are sought by discerning players around the world for their tonal purity, elegant...

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